Saturday, February 22, 2020
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Refrescos Country Club UVA Grape Soda
I opened this as I was cooking a meat loaf yesterday:
Brand: Refrescos Country Club UVA Grape Soda.
Origin: Brooklyn, NY.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Review: I quite often say that I like (or at least"don't mind") a syrupy soda. But this was nearly too much for me. I don't know that I've EVER had a soda that was this syrupy. My wife would have called it a little "cough syrup-like" (although it didn't taste medicinal at all). The grape flavor was "expected" and OK, but it was just a bit to thick-tasting. I appreciate that it seems to be trying something new/unique, but I'll still have to rate it just below average.
Score: 4 out of 10.
Brand: Refrescos Country Club UVA Grape Soda.
Origin: Brooklyn, NY.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Review: I quite often say that I like (or at least"don't mind") a syrupy soda. But this was nearly too much for me. I don't know that I've EVER had a soda that was this syrupy. My wife would have called it a little "cough syrup-like" (although it didn't taste medicinal at all). The grape flavor was "expected" and OK, but it was just a bit to thick-tasting. I appreciate that it seems to be trying something new/unique, but I'll still have to rate it just below average.
Score: 4 out of 10.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda
I opened this last night and shared a few sips with my boys:
Brand: Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda.
Origin: Whitestone, NY.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.
Review: This is really interesting because it starts VERY creamy, but then each sip ends with a bit of a "bite." It's unusual to have both those sensations in the same soda. It's just a basic (but tasty) creamy black cherry soda. I'm a bit surprised that it's not labeled as "black cherry CREAM." It's a solid soda!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Brand: Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda.
Origin: Whitestone, NY.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.
Review: This is really interesting because it starts VERY creamy, but then each sip ends with a bit of a "bite." It's unusual to have both those sensations in the same soda. It's just a basic (but tasty) creamy black cherry soda. I'm a bit surprised that it's not labeled as "black cherry CREAM." It's a solid soda!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Dead World Root Beer Zombie Soda
During the Super Bowl tonight, I just *had* to open a root beer:
Brand: Dead World Root Beer Zombie Soda
Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Sugar.
Review: Dead World was recently acquired by Blue Sun Soda here in MN, so I *think* this is different root beer than the "Dead World TWILIGHT SHUFFLE Root Beer" that I had 18 months ago, because that was still made in Michigan. (Also ironic: that last Dead World root beer was enjoyed as I was finishing up semester grading, and this Dead World root beer was enjoyed as classes start in a few days.)
Anyway, this was quite good. It was thick and creamy, and nearly syrupy. I don't recall having such a "thick" root beer anytime recently. It had little head, but was pretty smooth and rich. It almost had a floral or fruity aftertaste. Not a bad root beer!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Brand: Dead World Root Beer Zombie Soda
Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Sugar.
Review: Dead World was recently acquired by Blue Sun Soda here in MN, so I *think* this is different root beer than the "Dead World TWILIGHT SHUFFLE Root Beer" that I had 18 months ago, because that was still made in Michigan. (Also ironic: that last Dead World root beer was enjoyed as I was finishing up semester grading, and this Dead World root beer was enjoyed as classes start in a few days.)
Anyway, this was quite good. It was thick and creamy, and nearly syrupy. I don't recall having such a "thick" root beer anytime recently. It had little head, but was pretty smooth and rich. It almost had a floral or fruity aftertaste. Not a bad root beer!
Score: 8 out of 10.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
A Popular Post
I write this blog mainly for my own archive. I ALWAYS bring my blog up on my phone when I'm buying soda to see if I'm looking at a soda I've tried before. (Or to see if I'm re-purchasing a "9" or a "10!")
Still, it was fun to see recent post get a lot of hits! It was my post about visiting "Remix" candy and popcorn store that just opened 3 blocks from home. Someone shared my post the following day on a "foodie" page for the Twin Cities. Suddenly, I was on Facebook seeing random people sharing my post. That was fun.
I glanced at my built-in page counter from Blogger, and it showed the anomaly:
I stopped in to Remix for some Christmas presents in mid-December, and I chatted with the owner the same way I have for the previous 4-5x I've been in. And that blog post came up. "Wait... are you Steve? With the 'root beer' blog?!?" she asked. Apparently, people had been coming in saying they had seen that post. I was happy to be driving business her way!
Still, it was fun to see recent post get a lot of hits! It was my post about visiting "Remix" candy and popcorn store that just opened 3 blocks from home. Someone shared my post the following day on a "foodie" page for the Twin Cities. Suddenly, I was on Facebook seeing random people sharing my post. That was fun.
I glanced at my built-in page counter from Blogger, and it showed the anomaly:
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| My blog's stats 2 days after posting: 1100+ hits on that post, 20x more than the next popular one for the month. |
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| Later that month, the unusually popular posting date stands out. |
I stopped in to Remix for some Christmas presents in mid-December, and I chatted with the owner the same way I have for the previous 4-5x I've been in. And that blog post came up. "Wait... are you Steve? With the 'root beer' blog?!?" she asked. Apparently, people had been coming in saying they had seen that post. I was happy to be driving business her way!
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
W.T. Heck's Marshmallow Soda
After a week in Mexico, I came home and tried a strange sounding soda:
Brand: W.T. Heck's Marshmallow Soda
Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Sugar.
Review: First of all, I like the name: I'm assuming that "W.T. Heck" stands for "what the heck?" (Yes, my Mom has called me a genius.) Well what the heck? It ACTUALLY tastes like liquid marshmallow! Sort of. With a bit of a "floral" aftertaste that isn't all bad. This wasn't something I could sit and DRINK - it would have been too overwhelming. No, this was more of a "sipping" soda. It wasn't too bad. If you know someone who really has a thing for marshmallows, then this could be a fun treat for them. Odd, but fun.
Score: 5 out of 10.
Brand: W.T. Heck's Marshmallow Soda
Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Sugar.
Review: First of all, I like the name: I'm assuming that "W.T. Heck" stands for "what the heck?" (Yes, my Mom has called me a genius.) Well what the heck? It ACTUALLY tastes like liquid marshmallow! Sort of. With a bit of a "floral" aftertaste that isn't all bad. This wasn't something I could sit and DRINK - it would have been too overwhelming. No, this was more of a "sipping" soda. It wasn't too bad. If you know someone who really has a thing for marshmallows, then this could be a fun treat for them. Odd, but fun.
Score: 5 out of 10.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Soda Box Camera
Someone known as Magnifik 2.0 on Flickr folded parts of a Coca Cola soda box into a pinhole camera:
Here's the image source and more abut the camera:
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| Front |
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| Back |
Here's the image source and more abut the camera:
SCM (Self-Contained Matchbox) 35mm Pinhole Camera. Idea taken and modified from my earlier matchbox pinhole camera built. Constructed with a single sheet of cardboard which folds together into a self-containing box. 10mm focal length, 0.11mm pinhole diameter.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Atomic Fizz Soda
I opened this earlier this afternoon (as I watched the Vikings lose in the playoffs... sad)...
Brand: Atomic Fizz Soda.
Origin: Louisburg, KS.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.
Review: I kinda had high hopes for this. It's label made it sound really special. This soda (not the BRAND, but this particular flavor) has it's own Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook page. And it didn't have any sort of flavor listed, so I was super curious as well. It ended up being a bit of a cream soda -like soda. But it really was more than that. There's an element of cola in there, and a thick syrup-iness. If I had to describe it in one sentence, I'd say it's a blonde, creamy, syrupy, slightly fruity cola... kinda. Not bad at all. Pretty interesting, and decent.
Score: 7.5 out of 10.
Brand: Atomic Fizz Soda.
Origin: Louisburg, KS.
Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.
Review: I kinda had high hopes for this. It's label made it sound really special. This soda (not the BRAND, but this particular flavor) has it's own Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook page. And it didn't have any sort of flavor listed, so I was super curious as well. It ended up being a bit of a cream soda -like soda. But it really was more than that. There's an element of cola in there, and a thick syrup-iness. If I had to describe it in one sentence, I'd say it's a blonde, creamy, syrupy, slightly fruity cola... kinda. Not bad at all. Pretty interesting, and decent.
Score: 7.5 out of 10.
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